


The Old Switcharoo

by mikisupreme



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Awkward Flirting, Eddie Kaspbrak Loves Richie Tozier, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Smut, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Freaky Friday - Freeform, Friends to Lovers, Gay Eddie Kaspbrak, M/M, Richie Tozier is a Little Shit, Sassy Eddie Kaspbrak, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Soft Eddie Kaspbrak, Sonia Kaspbrak's A+ Parenting, swapping minds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-07-22
Packaged: 2019-06-05 12:25:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15170729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mikisupreme/pseuds/mikisupreme
Summary: “Yeah, well trust me, Eddie, you wouldn’t want my life.” Richie mumbles, almost too quiet for Eddie to hear. Eddie opens his mouth to fire back, but the line clicks, and the call is dropped. He grumbles angrily as he slams the phone back on the receiver.“You wouldn’t want mine, either,” Eddie mumbles to the kitchen floor. He tiptoes as quickly as he can to his room and manages to fall asleep.AU in which Eddie and Richie switch bodies, and consequently, lives.





	1. Chapter 1

Eddie paces back and forth frantically, the telephone cord wrapping around his wrist. It’s around eleven thirty at night, he’d guess, and his mother was sound asleep upstairs. If he got caught being up this late, he was fucked.

                “I told you I can’t go!” Eddie hisses as he continues pacing a line in his kitchen. He hears Richie sigh from the other end and a loud thump. He probably sat down on his bed or something.

                “But, Eds, you have to! I have to return Alien back to Blockbuster in _two days_!” Richie whines loudly enough that Eddie has to move the phone away from his ear. Eddie sighs and sits down on his kitchen stool as quietly as possible. He looks out of the window and watches the drifting snowflakes collect and stick to the glass. “Hello? Earth to Eddie Spaghetti!” Eddie winces at Richie’s loud shout.

                “Yeah, yeah! I’m here, and don’t call me that!” Truthfully, Eddie didn’t mind it that much when Richie called him ‘Eds’- it was kind of endearing. Not that he’d ever mention it to Richie, though. If he did, he knows Richie would never let it go. “You know how my mom is, Richie. If I get caught out after my curfew, I get grounded.”

                “So, don’t get caught!” Richie fires back. Eddie imagines the triumphant smirk on Richie’s face. He finds himself stupidly flushing at the thought of it. “Plus, I could just sneak over there if you needed me to. You know I’ve done it plenty ‘o times before.”

                “Listen, Richie, we all can’t have it as easy as you!” Eddie regrets the words as soon as they leave his mouth, but he’s just so frustrated. Richie never gets it at all! Just because he can come and go from his house whenever he wants doesn’t mean everyone else can. The line falls silent for a couple of unnerving seconds. Too long for someone like Richie.

                “You think I have it easy?” The humor was completely gone from Richie’s voice. Just a serious tone that made Eddie’s arm hair stand up. Shit.

                “No, no, no,” Eddie sputters as he feels his lungs constrict painfully. “Richie, that came out wrong. I’m just saying- “  

                “I think I got what you were trying to say just fine, Eds.” The hurt is raw and obvious in Richie’s voice. Eddie shrinks into himself a little bit more. “What you don’t get is that at least you have a mom that gives a fuck! Yeah, she’s crazy, but she cares. My mom couldn’t care less how I was doing. She’s never home!” Richie yells so loud Eddie worries his mother will hear them arguing. Eddie looks over his shoulder to the stairs just to make sure.

                “Don’t get me started on that shit. You don’t know how hard it is to live like this! To always have to be under someone else’s thumb and get NO SAY.” Eddie whispers harshly as tears well up in his eyes. He really wishes he didn’t say anything at all. Richie huffs audibly but doesn’t speak for quite a few seconds.

                “Yeah, well trust me, Eddie, you wouldn’t want my life.” Richie mumbles, almost too quiet for Eddie to hear. Eddie opens his mouth to fire back, but the line clicks, and the call is dropped. He grumbles angrily as he slams the phone back on the receiver.

                “You wouldn’t want mine, either,” Eddie mumbles to the kitchen floor. He tiptoes as quickly as he can to his room and manages to fall asleep.

* * *

 

                Eddie wakes up the next morning to bright, unforgiving sunlight stabbing his eyes. He groans as he sits up slowly in bed. Jesus, he could have sworn he closed his curtains last night. He rubs his eyes with the back of his hand and looks around.

                _What. The. Fuck._

The room around him looks like, well, a war zone, and that’s putting it nicely. There’s shirts, shorts, jeans, and even cans of soda left in places you would never imagine them being. He jumps up from bed and stares in horror at the Weezer poster hung on the wall. Why the hell was he in Richie’s room? And where was Richie? Eddie flings open Richie’s bedroom door and hurries downstairs and into his kitchen. He almost screams when he sees Maggie Tozier sitting at the table, a coke in her hand. Holy shit, she must think Eddie was some sort of sex fiend who snuck into her house overnight!

                “Uhm, I can explain,” Eddie starts, involuntarily reaching down for a fanny pack that isn’t there. Maggie raises an eyebrow as she takes an uninterested drink of her coke.

                “What’s there to explain, Richard? You’re late for school again, just like every other day.” Eddie laughs awkwardly as he scoots backward a couple of steps. Was she joking? She had to be.

                “Very funny, but it’s Eddie. Do you know where Richie is? We need to talk.” She looks very confused at this but eventually forces a dry, humorless laugh.

                “What is this? Another one of your ‘impressions’?” She looks down at the newspaper in her hand. “That’s a pretty good Eddie one, son.” Eddie balks and feels sweat drip down his face as he stays rooted in that spot, unable to stop staring at Maggie. “Are you going to stare at me or get ready? It takes a while to walk to school.” Eddie nods shakily and takes the stairs by two as he runs into the bathroom.

                He screams at what he finds.

His usually tamed, light brown hair has turned into a mess of dark brown curls. Freckles dot themselves more prominently on his nose, and his vision is remarkably blurry. However, blurry vision and all, there’s no doubt he’s Richie.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie tries (and fails) to imitate Richie

He runs his hands over his, well Richie’s, nose and pats. Yeah, it was definitely _actually_ there. He pales as he pinches his arm hard enough to leave a red mark, but nothing happens. So, he really wasn’t having some sort of fever dream. Great. Eddie squints in vain as he struggles to find the vague shape of glasses on the bathroom sink. He grabs a comb and brushes the unruly strands of hair as much as he can and grabs a shirt that didn’t smell. Eddie grabs a pair of black jeans to finish and runs out of the door, not missing how Maggie doesn’t wish him a good day. Not like that could have made his situation any better, of course, because by the time he rolls up to school it’s around lunch.

                He walks into the cafeteria and sighs with relief as he spots Stan getting nachos. “Stan!” Eddie cries and he joins him in line. “God am I glad to see you.” Stan blinks up at him in confusion as he pours cheese sauce on the chips.

                “I thought you were skipping today, Rich.” Stan says as he grabs a water bottle. Eddie grabs one, too and follows him out of the line. “You sounded pretty upset about it on the phone last night.” Eddie feels his heart sink as he watches Stan grab a couple of napkins.

                “Upset about what?” Eddie doesn’t have to ask, but he also wants to be sure. Stan looks at him like he just said 2 plus 2 equals four.

                “The fight you got into with Eddie?” Stan asks incredulously as he begins to walk to their usual table. Eddie follows behind nervously.

                “Oh, yeah!” Eddie forces a laugh and pats Stan hard on the back. He gathers all his knowledge about Richie and tries to make this performance believable. “Well, Staniel, I was completely an asshole! Eddie was right, like he always is.” Stan scoffs as he sits his tray down at the table.

                “Why are you calling him Eddie? You never do that.” Stan says as Eddie sits and joins the other losers. Bev is throwing popcorn into Ben’s mouth as Bill and Mike laughs from the other side of the table. He carefully scans the table for the imposter Eddie, but he doesn’t see anyone at all. He scratches his head and turns to Stan, poking him in the arm. “What do you need, Rich?” Stan asks as he stops helping Bill with his math homework.

                “Where’s Richie?” Stan and Bill look at him like he grew a third head. Eddie almost chokes on his spit as he tries to fix his big fuck up. “Uhm, I mean, where’s Eds?” Stan raises an eyebrow, but only shrugs in response.

                “H-He said h-he was staying home today,” Bill says as he finishes another math problem quickly. Eddie shrieks in horror and grabs Bill by the shoulders.

                “But we have an algebra test today!” Bill furrows his eyebrows as Eddie shakes his shoulders with vigor.

                “Since when did you care about math tests?” Bev asks as she pulls Eddie away from Bill gently, but still with enough force to actually move him. Stan nods in agreement as he puts his hand on Eddie’s forehead.

                “Seriously, Richie, are you feeling okay? Do you need to go home?” Eddie sits there with his mouth open, trying to formulate some kind of response.

                “Hey there fellas!” Eddie pales at that extremely familiar tone. His own voice sounds off from _right next to him_ as Richie sits down. Eddie snaps his head to look over at Richie and scowls at him, and the rest of the table notices immediately.

                “Richie!” Bill gives him a weird look. “Uh, I mean, Eds! I need to talk to you _right now_.” Richie gave him a small smirk as he places his head in his hands.

                “Oh? Why’s that, Rich?” He gestures to the rest of the table with a tilt of the head. “What do you need to say to me that you can’t say to everyone else?” Eddie groans as he bites his lip.

                “I thought you weren’t coming today, E-Eddie,” Bill says as he looks Richie up and down carefully. “Are you feeling well e-enough to be at school?” Richie gives an over exaggerated cough and sniffles loudly.

                “I really just feel bad, Bill, but today is the only day my plug will be at the school, so..” He trails off as Eddie grabs him by the shirt collar. Eddie pulls him out of his chair and starts for the cafeteria entrance.

                “Mom and dad just have to talk for a minute,” Eddie mutters as he slams the cafeteria doors behind them. He pins Richie to a wall and groans loud enough to gather the attention of a couple of people. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Eddie hisses as he gestures to Richie’s whole body. Richie shrugs and leans up against the wall smugly.

                “Living my best life. How about you, Eds?” Richie asks as he picks at his fingernails. Eddie pulls at his hair, for once slightly glad he wasn’t in his body. He would have definitely had an asthma attack by now.

                “We need to fix this.” Eddie says as he makes direct eye contact with himself, or actually Richie. Jesus, he’ll never get used to that. Richie makes an uninterested face as he shrugs, seemingly content.

                “Why, Eds? I’m having a whole lot of fucking fun, to be honest.” Eddie pales and feels almost like he could pass out. Richie grins up at him and winks cheekily. “Listen, Eds, I’m not giving you your body back. It’s a no deal for me.” Richie moves past Eddie and starts walking down the hallway. Eddie calls after him loudly.

                “Don’t reference game shows while I’m trying _to get our bodies back!”_ But Richie was long gone, already moving past the hallway and into the next. Eddie sighs as he pushes the cafeteria door back open, only to be greeted by a very concerned Stan. Eddie feels his jaw hit the floor as he tries to force a grin on his face. “Oh, hey, Stanthony! Me and Eds were just- “

                “Discussing how to switch bodies back, I know.” Stan says carefully, placing his hand on the small of Eddie’s back. “Are you okay, Richie? You and Eddie are acting really fucking weird,” Stan eyes him up and down, “even for you.” Eddie laughs and flips a curl out of his eyes.

                “Oh, I’m just great!” Eddie says cheerfully. “Eds and I just mess around like that, yknow? He’s into roleplaying.” Stan hums, definitely unconvinced.

                “Righhtt, but everything about you is different today.”

                “What? How?” Eddie asks, his voice cracking on the last word pathetically. He cringes at himself in embarrassment.

                “Like the fact you brushed your hair, maybe? Or you aren’t wearing the Nirvana shirt you wear every day?” Stan points to Eddie’s neatly tucked in shirt and wrinkle free pants. “And just look at this shit! When have you _ever t_ ucked your shirt in?”

                “I just wanted to try something a little different, that’s all.” Eddie says, leaning up against the door casually. “Plus, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to be cleaner, Stanny. Especially when you always rank of weed and Axe like me.” Stan grabs Eddie’s wrist and looks up to him, determination reflected in his eyes.

                “You’re not Richie, are you?”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richie and Eddie have a talk.

                Eddie doesn’t respond, he only stares at Stan’s face for what seems like a minute or two. Stan raises an eyebrow before playfully punching him in the shoulder. Eddie tries to smile, but it feels more like a grimace.

                “I’m just messing with you, Richie,” Stan says with an awkward chuckle as he tosses his water bottle in the trash can. Eddie forces a laugh out of his extremely tight throat. Anxiety has been building inside of him all day, and he’s close to bursting. “Although, you have been acting _really_ weird.” Stan looks around to make sure no one can hear them. “Are you okay? Like, do I need to contact Eddie and sort this out – “

                Eddie shakes his head so fast he worries it’ll fall off. “No!” Stan frowns up at him. “I mean, Eds and I will work it out. Everyone gets into it sometimes, yknow?” Stan nods thoughtfully.

                “Yeah, that’s true. I kind of like this side of you, Richie,” Stan says with a genuine smile. “Maybe Eddie has rubbed off on you?” Eddie smiles for the first time in ages.

                “Yeah, way more than you’d think.” The bell to fourth period rings through the whole cafeteria and all of the Losers part ways with each other. Stan heads off to physics, along with Bill and Ben. Eddie isn’t so lucky, because when is he ever? Nope, he’s stuck in math class with Richie for the next forty or so minutes. He groans as he makes his way to the class room and pulls open the door. Jesus, when did the doorway get so close to his head? Fuck Richie for being a walking beanpole. He hopes somewhere that Richie would have just skipped the class and save Eddie the humiliation of watching him ruin his reputation, but that isn’t the scene he walks into.

                “So _that’s_ why they call me ‘break her back Kaspbrak’!” Richie is sitting all fucking smug at Eddie’s desk. Around him are a bunch of boys AND girls Eddie would have never dreamed of having an actual conversation with. They all listen to him like he’s some sort of celebrity- hanging on every word he says. Richie looks up and smirks at Eddie, fluttering his eyelashes at him. One girl tugs impatiently at the sleeve of Richie’s shirt.

                “Did you really make it to where she couldn’t walk for three days?” Eddie chokes and almost passes out as he grabs the corner of a desk. Richie wants to ruin his good reputation? Fine, two can play at that game. He saunters over to the group and peers down at Richie.

                “I’ll have you guys know I once tried to bring a girl to bed, but she thought I was too small, so I banged her with a toothbrush.” Eddie says confidently, returning the smirk Richie gave him a moment ago. Richie’s face immediately falls as he flushes only slightly.

                “That’s disgusting, Tozier.” A boy from the football team says as he scoots his desk away. Richie looks between the Eddie and the boy quickly.

                “Richie didn’t do that! He’s an upstanding individual with a **VERY** big dick!” Richie sputters as he fruitlessly tries to save the situation. The boy gives him a weird look as the rest of the girls’ scurry on back to their respective desks. Eddie smirks as he moves to Richie’s seat and sits down. Halfway through the lecture, Richie passes a note back to him.

                “To my once dear Spaghetti-o,

If you think that’ll throw me off, you’re wrong. Sure, you can ruin my already shit reputation, but I have a lot more of material to ruin yours. They don’t call me ‘Trashmouth’ for nothing. Your best bet right now is to meet me at the basketball court after school. Maybe we can work something out.”

                Eddie groans as he pulls at his hair. God, this is going to be a long day.

* * *

 

                Eddie pulls his shirt closer to him as he walks to the basketball court. The rest of his day after math was shit, and that’s putting it nicely. He had to avoid Stan and the rest of his friends for dear life, since he couldn’t imitate Richie to save his skin. The December air was pretty unforgiving, and the sky was a dull, gray color. Eddie remembers watching Richie smoke back here during their lunches earlier in the semester. How the smoke curled around his lips and puffed out into the atmosphere. He remembers scolding Richie for smoking so openly, and especially at school. Now it all seems so long ago. He just really doesn’t want to be in this fight anymore.

                He moves over to the basketball court and isn’t surprised to find Richie sitting down, waiting for him. Eddie moves by him and sits down slowly. Minutes go by and nothing is said between the two boys- the only noise being the whistle of the wind around them.

                “So, you actually came, Eds,” Richie muses as he turns to look at Eddie. It’s really weird for Eddie to see so much sadness reflected in his own face. He looks truly upset.

                “Wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” Eddie replies back dryly. He has a reason to be pissed, alright? He’s sure any reasonable person would be. “What do you want to talk about, Richie?”

                Richie gestures to himself and Eddie. “Whatever the hell this is!” He cries as he tugs on one of Eddie’s favorite turtlenecks. Eddie frowns and tugs his hands away.

                “Careful, jackass! You’ll stretch it out.”

“That’s not the only thing I stretch out.” Richie says, unable to help himself. Eddie gags as he looks away, face red. He’s almost forgotten to be mad at Richie for all of this.

                “I’m supposed to be pissed at you.” Eddie sighs as he messes with his shoes. He’s wearing Richie’s favorite (and beat up) red converse. There’s scuffs all over them and they’re definitely old as dirt, but they’re just so _Richie._ “You’re going around saying I break girls’ backs out!” Richie snorts as he smacks his hand onto the pavement.

                “Come on, Eds! That was a good one!”

“Not as good as mine,” Eddie fires back. “And don’t call me that! Especially not right now.” Richie sighs and runs a hand through his hair.

                “I really hate fighting with you, Eds.” Richie says softly as he places his hand on Eddie’s knee. “You’re my best friend! I mean, of course Stan means the world to me, but that’s different.” Eddie smiles softly as he feels Richie squeeze his knee. “This is definitely a fucked up situation, like some real goosebumps shit, but we can figure it out.” Eddie nods in agreement as he scoots closer to Richie.

                “We just need to work together, Rich. We can figure some way to switch bodies back, yeah?’ Eddie says, maybe a bit too hopefully. Richie nods in agreement and hugs Eddie so tight it almost hurts.

                “I’m sorry that I’m a big asshole and messed things up,” Richie mumbles into Eddie’s chest. Eddie rolls his eyes, although he knows Richie can’t see it. He could get used to being this tall, he thinks.

                “It’s alright, Richie.” Eddie says as he pats the top of Richie’s head. Damn, Eddie feels proud of how soft his hair is. “It was my fault, too, after all. We’ll just find some way to reverse the switch.” Richie nods in agreement as he pulls away.

                “We gotta do it fast, Spaghetti Man! I’ve seen some shit I’d rather forget about.” Richie looks visibly disgusted at the mention of whatever it was.

                “What did you see?”

Richie takes a dramatic breath and looks away. “Let’s just say I happened to walk into your mom having a shower.” Eddie gasps for breath despite not having any issues in Richie’s body. He clutches his chest and ignores the feeling of nausea creeping up in his stomach.

                “Beep fuckin’ beep, Richie!” Richie laughs so hard he falls over on the pavement, his chest heaving up and down. “It’s not funny, Richard.” Eddie mumbles, but before he can stop himself he’s laughing, too. The snow starts to fall around them, but neither one of them notices. For once in this crazy day, everything feels _normal._

               


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie and Richie ask for help.

                “So,” Richie sits up and dusts off his jeans,” sorry to ruin our moment, Eddie, but _what the hell_ are we going to do about this?” Eddie was so caught up in laughing he also forgot about the major pickle they were in. He bites his bottom lip out of habit and Richie smacks him on the knee lightly. “Knock that off, dude! I don’t want my baby soft lips to go to chapped city!” Eddie scoffs at him and scoots away, creating distance between the two.

                “Shut it, Richie! It’s not like you’re getting any action anyway.” Eddie says as he does his best to scowl.

             “ _I’ll have you know_ \- “

“Anyway,” Eddie says, cutting Richie off, “I think we need to tell someone about this.” Richie looks at him like he’s lost his mind.

                “Jesus, Eds! Are you kidding me?” Eddie gives him yet another dirty look. Jesus Christ, he’s probably scowled at Richie well over a thousand times now. Someone give him a cookie.

                “Well, I don’t see you with any better ideas!” Eddie stands up and crosses his arms, looking down at Richie triumphantly. Damn, did he love being tall! Richie stands up after him, but Eddie is admittedly a short guy, so it comes off more endearing than intimidating. No wonder why Richie never takes his threats seriously.

                “I don’t need to have any better ideas to know that one is _crazy_! What’re we gonna do, Eddie? Walk up to Bill and tell him we switched places?” Richie snorts loudly and does a bad impersonation of Bill. “O-oh, g-golly gee, guys! Let’s f-fix it with the power of f-friendship!” Eddie tries to keep a straight face but fails as he laughs loudly.

                “Be serious, Rich! I think we should tell Stan first. He definitely suspects that something is going on between us.” Eddie says as he looks around for the bike rack. “Did you ride my bike here? We could bike to his house on that.” Richie clicks his tongue as he begins to walk over to the rack.

                “First off, that’s a decently good idea,” Richie says as he swings a leg over the bike,” second off, _there is_ something going on between us.” Eddie flushes as he gets on behind Richie and holds onto his back. It’s really awkward because of the drastic height difference. Eddie bets that they look like a couple of weirdos heading off to the circus.

                “There’s nothing going on between us, you asshole!” Eddie mutters as Richie speeds off towards Stan’s house. Eddie squeaks and holds onto Richie for dear life, height difference be damned. Richie laughs as he speeds down a hill and through some rough patches of pavement.

                “Jesus, Richie! Are you trying to kill me?” Eddie squeaks as Richie puts on the breaks and stops in front of Stan’s front lawn. Richie shrugs as he hops off the bike and leaves it in the grass.

                “Why would I ever do that? I wouldn’t want to mess up that god-like face!” Eddie punches him a little too hard in the shoulder.

                “Mess up whose god-like face?” Stan looks unimpressed as he leans on the doorway to his house. Stan’s house is a small duplex with light blue paint all over it. It’s pretty homey and the Losers spend a lot of their time going between Stan’s place and Bill’s. Eddie walks over to Stan and puts a hand on his shoulder. Stan looks very concerned as he glances between Eddie and Richie. “What the fuck is going on?”

                “We have to tell you something, Stan,” Richie calls from behind them as he walks up to the porch. Eddie nods along.

                “Yeah, and you can’t freak out.” Stan lets them in without a word and leads them upstairs and into his room. Stan takes a seat on the bed and Richie and Eddie sit on the floor. Stan looks pensive as he stares off into the room. Richie coughs just to break the weird silence in the atmosphere.

                “So,” Stan starts as he looks over to Richie and Eddie,” you guys are dating, aren’t you?” Eddie chokes on his own spit and Richie laughs awkwardly. A barking laugh that just makes the whole situation even worse.

                “Not yet,” Richie says, wiggling his eyebrows. Eddie elbows him in the ribs and looks back at Stan.

                “No, Stan,” He looks over at Richie, who is currently laying on the floor, clutching his ribs. “Richie and I, well, we kind of switched bodies?” Stan blinks. A beat of silence passes. Richie groans from the floor.

                “Yeah, I kind of knew that.” Eddie almost chokes on his spit for the second time in five minutes. Richie grumbles as he manages to sit back up. “I mean, look at you guys! You’re nothing like yourselves.” Richie moans in agony as he looks toward Stan.

     “Tell me about it, Staniel! I want my hot bod back!” Stan groans and pushes his fingers to his temples.

    “I wouldn’t take it that far, Richie.” Richie shrugs and looks over to Eddie.

“So, what should we do?” Eddie asks, looking up to Stan with pleading eyes. “You’re the smartest person I know, Stan, you can figure this out.”

“I guess I am pretty smart,” Stan says as he messes with his nails.

                “I wouldn’t take it that far, Stan,” Richie says with a smug smirk. Stan flips him off and turns his body toward Eddie.

“Maybe you guys just need to reenact the thing that made you switch? Like go back to what happened and try redoing it.” Stan offers. Eddie nods in agreement and looks over at Richie.

                “Yeah, that’s probably the best option we have,” Richie says, looking off at the window. “It’s pretty dark out right now.”

 Stan looks over, his eyes flicking towards the clock on the wall. “It’s around nine o’clock at night right now, so if you made it to your houses in time- “

“Richie! You need to get home right now!” Eddie shrieks as he pulls Richie up from the floor. “My mom will kill you if you aren’t home in time!” Eddie sprints out of the door, yelling a ‘thank you’ over his shoulder as he takes the stairs by two. Richie follows behind him, breathing heavily.

“Hello, Eds!” Richie puffs from behind them as they get to the end of the stairs. “Baby lungs here!” Eddie pretends to not hear the insult as he jumps on his bike and speeds off to his house.

_They couldn’t afford to mess this up!_

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie and Richie try to get their bodies back

                Eddie is panting hard by the time they skid to the stop in front of his neatly trimmed front lawn. He pushes the bike in the grass as he and Richie jump off, albeit Richie a little more clumsily. Richie gasps and holds his hand over his heart, face redder than a tomato.

                “How the fuck did you survive physical education freshman year?” Richie wheezes as he starts off towards the front door. Eddie follows close behind.

                “I didn’t.” Eddie says as they make it to the front door. “It’s called a written note to not participate” Eddie smirks, happy in remembering the fact his overprotective mother was good for one thing, at least. Richie takes a deep breath and steadies himself, looking over at Eddie with a jealous look in his eyes.

                “I’m really starting to miss being me, Eds,” Richie says as he grabs the doorknob to Eddie’s house. Eddie nods as he gestures to Richie’s wrist.

                “Me too, Richie, but we can fix this shit _tonight_. What time is it?” Richie pulls up his sleeve and looks down at his wristwatch and taps it.

                “It’s around nine twenty,” Richie says, looking up at Eddie. They make direct eye contact and Eddie flushes. He has to look away and busy himself with messing with his shirt. Richie coughs awkwardly and Eddie looks back up, face still flushed. “So, you gonna give me a kiss goodnight or- “

                “Fuck off, Richie! Goodnight.” Eddie says as he pushes Richie towards the door. Richie laughs and allows Eddie to push him into the door. It opens all of the sudden, and Richie almost falls forward into the house. Sonia Kaspbrak comes rushing out, scrambling to steady Richie back on his feet. She sends Eddie a dirty look.

                “Oh, goodness!” She says as she fawns over Richie, smoothing his hair back. “Eddie, look at you! Your face is so red!” Richie cringes as Sonia pushes him inside the house and whips her head back at Eddie. “And you!” She says, pointing a finger into Eddie’s chest. “I don’t like the looks of you, Richie Tozier, and if I see you around my son again..!” She shakes her head and starts to shut the door. Eddie can see Richie mouth a ‘help me’ and Eddie laughs as the door shuts completely. At least Richie will understand what Eddie has to deal with on the day to day. He turns to walk away before hearing a loud shout from inside the house. “What do you mean Richie is a sex god?” Eddie cackles as he grabs his bike and rides off to Richie’s house. The cold wind makes his nose turn a bright cherry red and his fingers feel stiff on the bike handle. He grips the handle tightly as he makes his way towards Richie’s driveway. This has to work! He can’t help but to have hope that it will. No offense to Richie, but he doesn’t know how much longer he can stand being in his body. He dumps his bike in Richie’s yard and scrambles to the front door.

                “Jesus, Eddie, no need to freak out. Richie’s parents don’t care when he comes in,” Eddie mumbles to himself to ease the anxiety in his heart. It’s stupid, but he’s still expecting to be chewed out by his mom for not being home on time. When he opens the door, though, he finds a very different scene. Richie’s parents are out again, and a small note is stuck to the fridge.

                “Richard,

Father and I decided to go spend some time with your aunt and uncle up in the city. We left some money to get food while we’re gone.”

Eddie holds the note gingerly in his hands, like it could fall apart by just touching it. What the fuck? He bites the inside of his cheek so hard he tastes the metallic tang of blood. No wonder why Richie got so defensive on the phone. Something in his chest squeezes at the thought of Richie always coming home and never having anyone there to greet him. It makes a whole lot of sense why Richie is always wanting to have sleep over at Bill’s or Stan’s. He must be lonely. Eddie makes his way up the stairs and opens the door to Richie’s room.

                Eddie flushes as soon as he sits down on the bed. He kind of feels intrusive, just coming up here and sitting down like he owns the place. Richie’s room is covered in all kinds of different band merch. A huge Bob Marley poster was hung over his TV, and underneath the TV was his rolling paper for his joints. Eddie knew the room very well, since most weekends he was here keeping Richie company. He never knew how bad it really was, though. His eyes flick over to the rolling paper and he notices something sitting there that wasn’t there the last time Eddie came over. He gets up from the bed and squats down by the TV to see what it is. A small pile of cassettes sat in the corner.

                They were all marked with different labels, Eddie notices as he shuffles through them. Some of them had themes or were dedicated to different bands. Others were just called, “Songs to listen to while beating it”, which made Eddie _remarkably u_ ncomfortable. However, the one on the very top caught his attention the most. It just read, “Eddie”, in Richie’s usual messy handwriting. Eddie had always teased Richie for writing like a five -year -old, and Richie always claimed his hand just couldn’t catch up with his insane brain power. Eddie grabs the mixtape without really thinking about it and shoves it into Richie’s beat up cassette player. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting as he puts the headphones over his ears, but what he hears is definitely not it.

                _“_ _But I miss you more than I missed you before”_

Eddie flushes as he listens to the music. He loves this song, but Richie always teases him for it being too “girly”. Who would have thought Richie actually listens to this kind of stuff?

 _“_ _And now where I'll find comfort, God knows, 'Cause you left me just when I needed you most”_

Eddie takes the cassette player and sits on the bed, eyes brimming with tears. Why the fuck was he crying? Obviously, Richie was just messing with him and made this to make fun of him. Yeah, that was it! Richie will show up with this one day and play it for their whole group of friends just to show them what a “sissy” Eddie is. Eddie clutches his chest as his bottom lip wobbles. He’s really scared. Fucking terrified, even! He wants this weird feeling to just disappear, to just-

The sound of the phone ringing takes him from his stupefied state. He leaps from the bed, almost getting his feet caught in the wire as he leaps over the side of Richie’s bed. He grabs the phone and shoves it to his ear.

                “ _Richie_!” Eddie breathes, cradling the phone in excitement. He hears Richie chuckle over the line.

“The one and only,” Richie whispers. Eddie smiles and bites down on his lip. Thank god Richie weren’t actually there, cause if he was Eddie would be getting an earful for that. “So, ready to get this show on the road, Spaghetti? Mrs. K’s sweet tits ain’t enough for this rambler anymore.”

“Just shut it, Richie! Of course I’m ready to get this over with,” Eddie huffs as he rolls over onto Richie’s bed. He knows it’s obvious that it would, but his bed smells so much like him. Eddie fights away that weird feeling as best as he can.

                “Okay, okay! So, let’s just say the last thing we said to each other over again.” Richie says, sounding a little more than excited. Eddie hums in agreement, ready to get this over with. “Yeah, well trust me Eddie, you wouldn’t want my life.” Richie sounds kind of sad even now as he repeats those words.

                “You wouldn’t want mine, either,” Eddie whispers, despite the fact he’s home alone. Somehow this all feels _too_ intimate for a couple of teenage guys. Richie mumbles something Eddie can’t hear. “What did you say?”

                Richie clears his throat. “I said, I guess now we go to bed, huh?” Eddie shifts on the bed and pulls the covers over him.

                “Yeah, I guess so,” Eddie says as he flicks off the lamp. “Goodnight, Richie.”

“Thoughhh, I’d much rather have you in bed with me- “

“ _Goodnight, Richie_!” Eddie whispers harshly as he fights back a smile.

“Night, Eds.” The line clicks, and silence fills the whole house. Eddie shuts his eyes tight and hopes, no prays, that this will work.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU FOR ALL THE SUPPORT!! i love these two boys and writing them is such a blast for me. This one is a little longer than usual !  
> (the song used is Just When I Needed You Most)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie wakes up the morning after they try to swap bodies back.

                Eddie wakes up to the sound of birds chirping through the window. He grunts as he rubs at his eyes, sunlight slipping in through the cracks of his fingers. He stretches and pops his back as he leans forward, eyes still stubbornly shut. He didn’t want to see it. He didn’t want to open his eyes and see Bob Marley staring down at him again. He peeks through one eye and finds, to his absolute horror, Richie’s room before him. It was supposed to _work_ , goddammit!

                “Fuck!” He shouts, anger running hot through his veins. He stomps out of bed and runs to the bathroom. Richie’s face stares back at him in the mirror, almost mockingly. Eddie pounds his fist on the mirror in frustration. “Why didn’t it work?” He whispers, exhaustion slipping into his tone. He stares blankly at his reflection- stares at Richie- and starts to shake slightly. How could so much happen in such a short time? He gets into a fight with his best friend, swaps bodies with him, and now finds every time that he looks at him he feels funny? It just wasn’t fair. He grabs a clean shirt and a pair of shorts from the bathroom floor and tugs them on quickly. He needs to talk to Stan!

                He rushes outside, cold air hitting his bare legs, but it didn’t matter much to him. He grips the bike hard as he pulls it up from the yard and swings his legs over. The wind smacks him across the face as he pedals downhill to Stan’s place. The trip should have taken ten minutes or so, but Eddie makes it in about five. He throws the bike in the grass and sprints like a madman up to the door. It was Saturday, so Stan’s parents were probably out having breakfast. He pounds on the door, and after a couple minutes, a very disgruntled Stan opens it. He was still wearing his pajamas and his hair was a mess of curls.

                “Jesus, Richie, what do you want at this ungodly hour? And why the fuck are you wearing shorts?” Eddie bites his lip hard, not caring about Richie’s warnings about his habit ruining his lips. He gives Stan a withering look.

                “It’s _Eddie_ ,” he whispers harshly. “I need to come in, Stanny, please.” Stan sighs as he opens the door wide enough for Eddie to slip through. He closes it behind them and locks the deadbolt in place. “The swap with Richie and I didn’t work, obviously.” Eddie says, staring at his shoes.

                “I was really hoping I was having some sort of fever dream, but I guess this is actually a thing now,” Stan muses, mostly to himself.

“Yeah? Well try living it,” Eddie snaps, instantly regretting it. “I’m sorry, Stan, I’ve just been really high strung here lately.” Stan nods and directs him over to the living room with a movement of his hand. Eddie walks in and practically collapses into an armchair. Silence falls over the room for a couple of minutes. Eddie clears his throat. “When did you know you liked Bill _that_ way?”

                Stan chokes as his face becomes a shade of red that could rival a tomato. He looks away from Eddie and over to a corner of the room. “Where the hell did that come from?” He squeaks, glancing over at Eddie. Eddie tries to shrug casually, but it probably looks extremely awkward and robotic.

“I’ve just been wondering lately if I,” Eddie takes a deep breath, and looks away from Stan. Stan raises an eyebrow.

                “If you like Richie?’ Eddie can only nod, his face becoming a red that matches Stan. Stan hums thoughtfully. “Eddie, look at me for a second.” Eddie complies, making eye contact with the boy sitting in front of him. “I knew I liked Bill when he was helping me fill out college applications. We were just going about the process when he started to mention how excited he was for the future…” Stan trails off, an uncharacteristic dopey smile on his face.” Anyway, he just looked so happy, and for some reason I was happy, too. Then I got this warm feeling in my chest, and I just kind of knew.” Eddie pales, feeling sweat bead up on his forehead. He sits stiffly on the armchair, his fingers gripping the seat tightly.

                “Me too,” Eddie says, biting on his lower lip. “I feel the same way about Richie, but it’s not like that.” Eddie sighs as he runs his hands through his hair. “ _Richie_ isn’t like that.” Stan laughs, which honestly pisses Eddie off. Why is he laughing? “I really don’t see what the fuck is so funny, Stan,” Eddie huffs. Stan looks at him funny for a couple of seconds.

                “Wait,” he says slowly, looking at Eddie carefully. “Do you really think Richie doesn’t like you?”

“Well,” Eddie starts, but quickly deflates. “I guess…I don’t know.” Stan smiles at him reassuringly and taps his nose.

                “It’s as plain as the nose on my face, Eddie. He likes you,” Stan says.

“You know I could totally make a jewish joke about now,” Eddie mumbles, his face growing red. Stan laughs, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

“Maybe being in Richie’s body has changed you more than you know, Eddie,” Stan says. Eddie stands up, feeling half relieved and half terrified. He likes Richie. He _like_ likes Richie, and Richie might like him, too. He feels like he could throw up all over Stan’s rug.  Stan walks over and puts his hand on Eddie’s shoulder. “Why don’t you go and talk to him, Eddie? Tell him how you really feel.” Eddie nods shakily, his heart in his ears. He makes his way towards Stan’s front door and Stan opens it for him.

“Such a gentleman,” Eddie mumbles, smirking at Stan. “No wonder why Big Bill likes you.” Stan flushes as he shoves Eddie out of the door.

                “Fuck off, Eddie!” Stan laughs as he closes the door behind him. Eddie’s left with the cold that slithers over his ankles and up his body, but he’s also left with this strange warmth. He knows that confronting Richie could end really, really badly. He grabs his bike and gets on, still debating in his head. But what if it doesn’t go wrong? What if Richie feels the same way, and they can be together. I mean, they’d be in different bodies, but..

                “Ah, fuck it!” Eddie whispers to himself, pedaling hard towards his house. If Stan says Richie likes him, maybe there’s a chance he really does. Stan is right a good ninety percent of the time, after all, and that’s good enough for Eddie. The cold dissipates quickly as Eddie bikes hard towards his house. He passes up Richie’s, turns the corner, and finds his house. He hasn’t been this scared to come home in a while, but the lump in his throat just won’t go down. He leaves his bike in the grass as he walks up to his window. “Okay, Kaspbrak,” Eddie says, his eyes looking up to his bedroom window. He grabs the first vine and pulls himself upwards. “Richie does this all the time,” Eddie huffs, pulling himself up more, “I can do it, too.” His foot slips on one of the vines, and he almost crashes to the grass. He yelps and pulls himself up, suddenly getting intense memories of when he broke his arm in the Neibolt house. Eddie almost pukes right there on the side of his house.

                Even then, Eddie thinks as he does the first ‘tap’ on the window, Richie was there for him. He remembers how Richie pulled his face away from It. He still remembers how..

                “Eddie?” Richie whispers, opening the window to let Eddie in. Eddie squeaks as he tumbles into the room, ungracefully landing on his ass. “Hey look,” Richie mumbles as he helps Eddie up,” you fell for me!” Eddie smacks his hand away.

                “Beep beep, Richie! As you can see, the swap didn’t work.” Eddie says as he sits down on his bed. Richie follows him and sits beside him.

“No way! I couldn’t tell,” Richie says sarcastically. Eddie rolls his eyes at him. “I’m not sure how we’re going to get out of this one, Eds.” Eddie sighs, looking down at his feet.

“Me either, but,” Eddie takes a deep breath. “But, that’s not what I came to talk to you about.” Richie stiffens beside him and shifts on the bed.

                “Oh?” He says, looking over at Eddie. Eddie nods shakily and messes with his shirt. “What’s up, Eds? Go on and tell Uncle Richie.” Eddie smacks his arm.

“Shut it, Richie! Just…” Eddie flushes as he looks at Richie. Well, he was looking at himself, sure, but it didn’t feel that way. It just felt like he was seeing Richie. “Be serious for a second, okay?” Richie clears his throat and makes a straight face.

“No promises, but I’ll try.” Richie smiles, his hair falling into his eyes.

“I think I like someone,” Eddie whispers, his eyes accidentally drifting to Richie’s lips. Richie makes a soft sound of surprise. Kind of like a mix between “woah” and “oh”. Eddie feels his face burn with embarrassment.

“Who are they?” Richie asks, his eyes also flicking to Eddie’s mouth. Eddie feels like he’s going to pass out right there. His hands grip the bed sheets tightly. How the hell does he describe Richie without actually saying his name? He wracks his brain for a suitable description.

                “They’re an idiot,” Eddie says, looking up at Richie. Richie looks confused, but Eddie presses on anyway. “They’re stupid, but funny. Dumb, but somehow incredibly smart.” Eddie laughs as he looks down at his hands. “They make me feel so frustrated all the time, but I wouldn’t want it any other way..!” Eddie bites his lip hard, squeezing his eyes shut.

“Eddie?” Richie whispers. Eddie doesn’t open his eyes, only squeezes them tighter.

“What?” He mumbles, feeling so stupid. He’s just wasting his time! He should be focusing on getting back his body. He should…

“What did I tell you about biting lips?” Richie mumbles swiping his thumb under Eddie’s bottom lip. Eddie’s eyes fly open, his breath catching in his throat. The world is frozen- paused for just a second. All there is Richie and Eddie, caught up in a world of their own. A place separate from time itself. Richie moves forward, his breath mingling with Eddie’s own. Eddie lets out a noise of satisfaction, his eyes shutting involuntarily. When Richie’s lips ghosts against his own, he sighs audibly and connects their lips.

                Eddie imagines that it’s Richie’s body kissing him, not his own. That it’s Richie’s hands that grip his thighs as his tongue explores Eddie’s mouth. Eddie groans as he feels Richie pull him on top of him, their foreheads bumping together lightly. He feels complete, like this is where he is supposed to be. He wonders, momentarily, if Stan feels that way with Bill. Or if Bev feels that way with Ben. Richie pulls away breathlessly and laughs. Eddie feels Richie’s breath across his cheek.

                “Guess you didn’t take my lips to chapped city, after all,” Richie mumbles. Eddie snaps his eyes open and punches Richie in the shoulder.

“Oh, fuck off!” Eddie mumbles, no real bite to his words at all.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie talks about life and memories with Richie.

 

Richie chuckles lowly as he rubs gentle circles on Eddie’s back. Eddie relaxes immediately into the touch, nuzzling his head into Richie’s shoulder.

“How long, Eds?” Richie asks quietly, hand stalling for just a moment. Eddie feels his face redden at the question. What was he supposed to say? That he thinks he has loved Richie since they were kids, but just realized it an hour ago? How fucking lame would that be.

“For a while, I think,” Eddie settles on saying. Richie hums quietly, his hand going back to rubbing circles. Eddie can hear him laugh softly. A warm, kind laugh that makes Eddie’s stomach flip over and over. Damn you for being so perfect, Richie.

“I knew you wouldn’t to be able to resist the Tozier charm for long!” Eddie kicks him in the shin lightly, and Richie hisses. “Careful, Spaghetti, this isn’t my body that you’re bruising.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know!” Eddie says, looking down at Richie’s shin. “I’m not that delicate, though, I won’t bruise.” Eddie absolutely hates when people think he’s fragile and delicate. He’s really not! It’s hard to convince people otherwise, though, when you’re signed out from school every two weeks to get a checkup.  Richie sighs heavily from underneath him.

“I know, Eds,” Richie tightens his grip on Eddie. “I know more than anyone, I’d reckon!” Eddie raises an eyebrow and raises his head from Richie’s shoulder.

“Oh? And how’s that?” Richie’s grin grows to a chesire size as he chuckles at Eddie.

“Remember the time when we were seven years old and some kid in our class punched me right in the face?” Eddies face reddens considerably at that. Yeah, he did remember. Some jerk ran up to Richie and started trouble with him, and that trouble ended up in Richie getting punched right in the nose.

“You only got punched because you wouldn’t stop talking about his mom, Rich,” Eddie says, rolling his eyes and poking his finger on Richie’s cheek. Richie gasps and places an arm over his face.

“Eddie, how could you! Have you forgotten how you were my knight with a shining fanny pack?” Eddie deadpans and slides off of Richie.

“Beep Beep, Richie! Of course I remember.” Eddie rolls over to face Richie, their hands intertwining between them. Richie was bleeding, that much Eddie knew for sure. He had run over there, something he rarely did, and kicked the kid so hard in the shin he fell to the mulch below him. Eddie remembers how impressed Richie and Bill were with him (Richie even offered Eddie a position as his fulltime body guard, which Eddie declined). “I felt like a badass back then,” Eddie chuckles as he stares at their joined hands.

“I knew I loved you right then,” Richie says confidently. “I knew one day, even if it’s when we were old and fuckin’ saggy, you’d love me, too.” Eddie tightens his grip on Richie’s hand as he allows Richie to pull him in closer.

“Don’t ruin the moment by making me imagine you as a saggy old man,” Eddie huffs, nose turned up in disgust. “Imagine the man boobs you’ll have by then.” Richie laughs as he pulls Eddie even closer.

“They’ll be bigger than Mrs. K’s!” He declares, whooping loudly. Eddie shushes him by putting his hand over Richie’s mouth. Richie responds by licking his hand.

“Ew, fuck, Richie! You’re so disgusting,” Eddie squeaks as he grabs a wet wipe from his nightstand and wipes his hand down.

“You weren’t saying that when you were suckin’ face with me!” Richie says, grabbing Eddie by his waist and pulling their bodies impossibly close. All Eddie could think was a string of _RichieRichieRichie_ as their bodies were flush together. His mind felt like it was going on rapid fire! All of his senses were just filled with the guy who was holding him to his chest. They fit together like a puzzle piece, as clichéd as it sounds. “Hey, Eds?” Richie asks, voice barely above a whisper as he trails his fingers up and down Eddie’s arms. Eddie feels his arm hair stand up.

“Hmm?” He asks, feeling his eyes grow really heavy. A strange warmth was flowing from the top of his head to the soles of his feet. It was a peaceful, almost ethereal kind of feeling.

“I’m getting really tired,” Richie says, voice growing even more distant as Eddie gives into the feeling surrounding him. Eventually, he doesn’t even feel Richie’s arms around him anymore. He’s almost in a meditative state. A state that was completely serene. He allows himself to bathe in the feeling- relish it. He falls asleep almost instantly after.

* * *

 

                Eddie finds himself in Richie’s room when he opens his eyes. Around him are the usual things that call Richie’s room their home. The Bob Marley poster, the Weezer poster, the joint rappers, the Richie sitting on the bed..

                Wait, Richie? Eddie snaps his head over to find Richie sniffling into his sleeve, headphones slipped over his ears. He has a cassette player laying on his stomach, and Eddie can faintly hear the music through the headphones.

                _“You packed in the morning, I stared out the window and I struggled for something to say”_

Isn’t that Eddie’s mixtape..? Eddie’s eyes widen as he tries to move towards Richie, but his legs won’t move. All he can do is watch as Richie sobs quietly, probably afraid of waking up his mom.

                _“You left in the rain without closing the door I didn't stand in your way.”_

Richie wipes at his eyes and stares blankly at the ceiling. Eddie feels his heart clench painfully in his chest. Did he do this to Richie? Did their fight really make him _this_ upset?

                “Can’t believe he thinks I have it easy,” Richie mumbles to himself, his eyes red from crying. “Yeah, sure! It’s so easy having parents who don’t give a fuck and loving a guy who doesn’t feel that way.” Richie laughs hollowly as he tears the headphones off and tosses the cassette player into a random corner of the room. Eddie sighs, no wonder why it was so beat up when he had found it. Richie moves over to his TV stand and shoves the mixtape in the pile with shaking hands. Eddie feels the walls shake around him, and eventually everything begins to shake violently. Eddie almost topples over, but is engulfed in a bright, burning light before he can even hit the floor. He wakes up gasping, feeling the need to grab his inhaler…

                But, Richie doesn’t need an inhaler, so..?

So what’s going on?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i had to leave you guys on a cliffhanger, sorry!! thank you for sticking with me through this. the next chapter should be end game.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie and Richie switch back, but there's a catch.

                Eddie clutches his chest as he bolts out of his bed, eyes darting frantically around the room. Everything looks the same from the moments before he fell asleep, but one critical detail was missing. Richie _wasn’t there anymore_. Well, Richie in Eddie’s body wasn’t there, to be exact. Eddie jumps up from his bed and darts around his room at a speed he thought impossible for him. He kneels down and looks under his bed, but there’s only old comic books neatly leaning against a wall. Eddie wants to pull his hair out. Did Richie just leave and go home? In _Eddie’s_ body?

                A more troubling thought leaks its way into his brain. What if Richie regrets kissing him? What if he didn’t mean what he said so he booked it out of Eddie’s room, and his life? Eddie clutches his chest as he breathes heavily. He forces his shaking legs to move out of his room and to his bathroom. He stares at the bathroom door with the most anxiety he’s ever felt since they fought It. His hand is trembling on the handle- sweat coating his palms as he turns it gently. Another thought fills his head as the door creaks open.

                _What if he’s not Richie anymore?_

                The bathroom light flicks on with such a brightness that it makes Eddie hiss and screw his eyes tightly closed. He rubs them with the back of his hand as he feels his way over to his sink. More specifically, _his mirror._ He grips the side of the sink so hard his knuckles turn a white color. He’s scared for a reason he can’t even name. He just wants to be him again, dammit!

                “Come on, Kaspbrak,” Eddie mumbles to himself. “Just look.”

And so, he does. Eddie reluctantly opens his eyes, and to his utmost relief he sees a reflected image of himself staring back. He almost sobs from pure happiness as he hastily runs his hands all over his face. He pulls at his cheeks, wrinkles his nose up, and even pinches himself a couple of times, but it all stays there. He doesn’t wake up in Richie’s bedroom- the Bob Marley poster staring down at him accusingly. He stays right there, in front of the mirror, in his own _home_. Does that mean Richie is in his own home, too? Well, duh. Where the hell else would he be?

                Eddie creeps down the stairs slowly, eyes scanning for any signs of his mother’s presence, but all he can hear is the soft gust of wind hitting the side of his house. He sighs in relief. Eddie creeps into the kitchen, his sock-clad feet making soft padding noises as he moves across cool tile. Outside the nearby window he watches snow fall slowly onto the grass outside. How scenic. In fact, it bares an eerie resemblance to the night that started this whole fucking nightmare. Eddie reaches for the kitchen phone, wrapping his hand around the base. He was going to call Richie and sort all this shit out.

                Richie will come over and sneak into his room and they’ll laugh about how it’s finally all over! They’ll laugh about the whole thing. And then…

                And then, what?

Will Richie want to just be friends after, or will it become something more? Something that’s extremely dangerous in a fucked up town like Derry. Eddie knows Richie, at least he thinks he does, and he knows Richie’s impulsiveness like he knows the pattern of freckles on his face. What if it was all one big impulse? What if Richie just wanted to distract himself from the situation they were in? Eddie releases his grip on the phone and sits down on the stool. He stares out at nothing as he chews on his bottom lip harshly. It’s just Richie! His _best fucking friend_. He should be able to call his best friend. Why was he such a coward? A dumbass? An absolute-

                The phone rings loudly, completely scattering all of Eddie’s thoughts into nothingness. He gasps as he jumps up from the stool, quickly shoving the phone to his ear.

                “Richie!” Eddie whispers, eyes subconsciously drifting to the door of his mother’s bedroom. “Are you alright? Holy shit, I’ve been so worried.” Richie makes a surprised sort of squeak in response.

                “Well hot damn, Eds! I’m happy to hear from you, too,” Richie says, an obvious smile in the tone of his voice. Eddie raises an eyebrow in confusion. Why wasn’t he mentioning the fact they switched their bodies back? Maybe he was just in shock. Yeah, that sounds reasonable enough.

                “Aren’t you coming over?” Eddie says without really thinking. He flushes heavily, thankful that Richie couldn’t see his face. “Uh, I mean, now that we’re normal again? I’ll leave the window unlatched so..”

                “Normal? You’ve kind of lost me, Eds,” Richie chuckles awkwardly. “Is everything alright?” Eddie clenches his fist around the phone and huffs in aggravation. What the fuck did he think he was playing at? He was really going to make a joke out of one of the most traumatizing things to happen to both of them? He silences his tirade of thoughts and finds something more sinister growing in the darkness of his mind. Eddie hastily wipes his sweaty hand on his shorts.

                “Richie,” Eddie starts carefully, “why do you want to come over?” He fights against the growing fear in the pit of his stomach. It can’t be that _it can’t be that it can’t be that-_

                “Well, I have to return Alien back to Blockbuster in two days, so I want to come over and watch it with you. Plus, me and your mom need our nightly love makin’ session,” Richie says, chuckling at the end of the sentence. Eddie drops the phone and it clatters noisily to the tile floor, echoing in the dark kitchen. Eddie feels his face losing all color as he slumps to the floor and lets tears fall down his cheeks. “Eds?” Richie asks, but Eddie doesn’t pick up the phone. _He can’t pick up the phone!_ Everything they had done together through that weekend of hell is completely undone. They would never be Something Else now, or ever, and Eddie was cursed to live with the memory of it. “Eddie? Hey, are you there?” Eddie grabs the phone, hands shaking, and hangs up.

                He sits on the kitchen floor until almost the break of morning, rocking softly back and forth. The falling snow slows, and eventually stops completely. Eddie feels like now his only company has abandoned him. His heart was completely broken- all sharp shards that stabs him when he takes a breath. He scrambles to his feet as he hears his mother make her way to the stairs. Had he lost that much time?

                “Eddie Bear, are you awake?” Sonia asks as she descends the stairs, looking out into the still dark kitchen. Eddie flicks the light on and quickly moves over to the fridge. Sonia steps out into the kitchen, a concerned expression Eddie knew too well staining her face. “Oh my lord, Eddie, you look positively awful!” Eddie knew this time she was right about his physical state. Eddie felt like he had long died and was kept moving by a malevolent force. He smiles at Sonia softly as he opens the fridge, reaching for some milk.

                “I’m fine, Ma, just a little tired. I was up late working on that science project I told you about,” Eddie says as he pours some milk into a glass. He used the ‘science project’ excuse a lot with his mom here lately, and she always believes him. Eddie would show up after curfew, a little second-hand high from Richie, and tell Sonia he was just working on his science project. He’d only get a minor bruise from his mother grabbing his arm roughly, and that was a blessing. He was lucky that she fell for it.

                “Well, okay,” Sonia says cautiously, looking over Eddie like she could break him by sight alone. “If you need me to come pick you up from school, go to the nurse. She knows to always send you- “

                “To always send me home,” Eddie doesn’t disguise the glare he throws in his mother’s direction, “I know, Ma.” Sonia huffs as she makes her way to her usual spot in the living room and settles down in an armchair. Eddie drinks his milk quickly and places the dish into the sink with a small clank. “I’m riding my bike to school today,” Eddie says as he starts to make his way up the stairs. His mom gasps from the living room. Eddie cringes.

                “The bike! Eddie, I hate you riding that thing. It’s _dangerous._ ” Eddie can almost see the fake tears collecting at the corners of his mother’s eyes. His cringe deepens.

                “Richie can’t pick me up today, his truck isn’t working,” Eddie lies smoothly as he slowly makes his way for the bathroom. Surprisingly enough, for all the bad things Sonia said about Richie, she liked him the most out of Eddie’s friends. Which, of course, was just a very nice way of saying Sonia just hated Richie less than everyone else.

                “Well, I’m happy to know you won’t be riding with _that_ one today. He’s no good for you, Eddie!” His mom calls after him as Eddie opens the bathroom door and shuts it behind him. His back grazes the door as he stares off at the shower. He feels empty and hollow. Richie definitely wasn’t good for his heart, Eddie thinks as he brushes his hair. He sighs lowly, his eyes staring into the bathroom mirror with distain. Everything feels tarnished and wrong. He wants to be with Richie, he wants to hold Richie’s hand and listen to his shitty voices for the rest of his life. He places a hand on his cheek and pinches roughly.

                But he doesn’t wake up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PHEWWW THIS TOOK A WHILE. I had a baddd case of writers block fml. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! This is getting up to End Game.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie goes to school and then goes to a..party?

                The rest of his morning flies by in an unimportant daze. He’s mounting his bike on the frosted grass of his lawn, eyes heavy with exhaustion. Sonia gave him a million reasons why it’s still cool to be dropped off by your mom as a junior, but Eddie isn’t having it. He would rather bike to school in the snow than be dropped off by his mom’s station wagon. He grips his fingers around the handle hard as he peddles down the sidewalk. His cheeks sting from the cold bursts of air that smack into his face, but he doesn’t take the time to truly care. In fact, the cold comes as a pleasant distraction as he speeds down a lonely road. He ignores the house to the left of him with all the will he could muster. He grits his teeth together as he slows down despite himself. He casts a look over his shoulder to Richie’s house.

                I mean, he wasn’t sure what he was expecting. Everything was the exact same as it had been for years, but it was all so different. Eddie had been there, seen what Richie saw every single day, and now it was gone. As irrelevant as one ant to an ant hill.

                “Pointless,” Eddie mumbles to himself, eyes trained on the house before him. Richie’s truck was gone, leaving a weird shaped splotch of no snow in the grass. Eddie hates that truck, he decides. He hates how its beat up and red like Richie’s converse, he hates how Richie shows up late to pick him up in it. Eddie had always called it a ‘metal death trap’, much to Richie’s dismay.  He sits there on his bike as the minutes tick on without his knowing. He feels…lonely.

                “Get out of the way, asshole!” Eddie shrieks as he swings his bike away from the speeding black mustang. He lands in the snow-kissed grass with a loud hiss. Henry Bowers had mostly left the Losers alone now that they were juniors and Henry had more important victims to claim. However, his favorite to pick on was always Eddie. Eddie’s small height, his cleanliness, his inhaler, all of these made him a still shining red target to Bowers. Eddie looks down at his palm to inspect the few scrapes that appeared there. He sighs as he grabs a band-aid from his pocket and applies it carefully to the cut. He grabs his bike, ignoring the sting in his hand, and rides to school with only his thoughts to accompany him.

               

 

                Eddie shoves his bike carelessly into the bike rack, not really giving a fuck if someone takes it. The bike is all stained from grass via Henry fucking Bowers, and it’s also significantly dented. Honestly, he’d rather someone take it than have to deal with explaining _that_ one to his mom. The warm air of Derry High is almost slightly comforting, definitely a step up from the freezer-like weather.

_Last time I was coming to school, I was Richie._

Eddie shakes his head and ignores a couple of pointed stares from a gaggle of girls as he pushes his way to his locker. He opens it with a clunk and stares at himself in the mini-mirror Bev had bought for him. He kind of wants to cry as he looks at his disheveled appearance. His hair stuck out at strange angles, and his eyes had deep purple rings underneath them. Maybe he’ll just say, ‘fuck school’ and have his mom pick him up, after all. He shuts the locker with a bang after he grabs his algebra book, but he almost drops it at what he fucking sees. Richie Tozier is making his way down the hallway- right for Eddie. Eddie squeaks, looking for any possible exit, but there’s not a one to be found. Richie is wearing a Hawaiian shirt with a ripped Nirvana tee underneath. That stupid one that stinks like weed and just pure Richie. Eddie hates it, he’s sure of it.

                But what he hates more is how Richie is looking at him, eyes all glassy and _worried_ , and that’s so unlike him. Eddie just wants him to come bounding over here like he usually would. Eddie knows this look, though, he’s seen it before. Before, when he had..

                _“What did I tell you about biting lips?”_

Eddie shakes his head again and puts on a smile as Richie finally makes his way through the crowd and up to Eddie. He looks almost.. nervous.

                “Eds!” Richie says, relief filling his features. “Jesus, I was worried about you last night. I thought your mom came down and ate you, dude.” Richie laughs, eyes still scanning up and down Eddie- and holy fuck there’s _that_ _look_ again. That unconcealed concern.

                “Well, as you can see,” Eddie gestures to himself,” _I’m fine_.” Eddie snaps as he clenches his hand into a fist and stares Richie down. Richie looks at him in confusion. _He’s trying to figure me out._

“Eds, listen I- “Eddie watches as the rest of the Losers huddle around his locker, and he breathes a sigh of relief. Thank Christ, he has an out of this unwanted conversation. He looks over to Ben and decides to make up some bullshit and do it fast. Thankfully, he’s learned a bit of bullshitting from Richie.

                “Ben!” Eddie squeaks, looking over to Ben with a concerned expression. “I totally forgot about the Algebra 2 homework last night. Can you help me?” Ben pulls away from whispering something in Bev’s ear and smiles warmly at Eddie. He pats his backpack and gives Eddie a firm thumbs-up.

                “Yeah sure, Eddie,” Ben says, looking down to the book in Eddie’s hand, “it was some book work. We can do it at lunch?” Eddie nods enthusiastically, mentally thanking God for this miracle. He looks nervously over his shoulder to see Richie already wrapped up in a conversation with Beverly. He’s doing that thing where he gesticulates and throws in wild Voices for a story. Bev and Bill laugh loudly when Richie mimes thrusting his hips into the air as if it were something else. Eddie could be sick.

                                                _“I knew I loved you right then”_

Eddie hates the way his stomach flips over as he recalls those words. The way Richie’s face looked in Eddie’s dimly lit bedroom. The way his lips felt as they-

                “Hello? Earth to Eddie Kaspbrak?” Stan asks from beside him. Eddie jumps and snaps his head to look at Stan. Stan looks concerned, but not in that soul-crushing way Richie did. Just a friendly concern for his friend. “Are you in there?” Stan tries again, moving his hand back and forth across Eddie’s face. Eddie shoves him away playfully.

                “Yes, I’m all here!” Eddie squeaks, looking over at Stan. Stan gives him a small, reassuring smile. “Just..” Eddie bites his lip as he debates on what to say. He really didn’t want to lie to Stan. “I didn’t sleep well last night.” See? That wasn’t really a lie at all. Stan gives him a more sympathetic smile and pats his back softly. Eddie could almost cry from the touch alone, from the comfort.

                “Well, do you want to come to my house after school? We could talk about it,” Stan tries, looking Eddie up and down. Eddie smiles sadly and stares down at his sneakers. He moves his foot in small circles.

                “Don’t you have something to do with Bill tonight?” Eddie whispers, looking up at Stan through his lashes. Stan looks like he’s been caught red-handed and gives Eddie an awkward smile.

                “Well, I did, but,” Stan starts, chewing on his bottom lip absentmindedly. Eddie feels cold at the sight of it. His mind snapping back to Richie.

                 _“Guess you didn’t take my lips to chapped city, after all”_

Eddie wants to smack his face against the locker until he sees stars. He wants to do it until he, too, can have the luxury of forgetting that damn weekend. The luxury of knowing that Richie Tozier had loved him, and that Eddie loved him, too. He still does. “I couldn’t do that to you and Bill, but thanks, Stan,” Eddie says reassuringly. Stan pats him on the back firmly and smiles.

                “My door is always open for you Eddie,” Stan says softly. Eddie smiles back, a genuine smile. He really does love Stan. He wonders if life would be easier if Stan were the one he fell in love with, but he instantly regrets the thought. Richie was so much more right for him than Stan, or anyone else in the world. Where Richie was rough, Eddie was smooth. Where Richie was chaos, Eddie was clinical orderliness. Richie just felt _right_.

                 
                “I know, Stanny, thank you,” Eddie says warmly as Stan drops his arm from Eddie’s back. The bell interrupts their conversation with a sharp ring that hurts Eddie’s already growing migraine. He follows Stanley to their physics class, only hearing a snippet of Richie’s conversation with Mike.

                “He’d hate that, Richie,” Mike whispers as Eddie passes by. He spares a moment to wave up at Eddie, who waves back. Richie is too absorbed in his plan to notice, apparently. He sighs and runs his hand through his black curls.

                “No…. love it, in fact,” or at least, that’s what it sounds like Richie is saying. Eddie doesn’t hear the rest as he opens the door to physics and sits down beside Stanley with a tired thud. Just fuck today.

                After physics, Bill approaches Eddie with a kind of ‘I know something you don’t’ smile that instantly makes Eddie want to run for the hills. Of course, Eddie loves Bill. Not one among them don’t love Bill, but Eddie would argue there was a time he loved Bill most. Eddie always emulated Bill’s bravery when they were younger. If Big Bill climbed that tree, then damn it, he was going up, too! Of course, most of these attempts were stopped by Sonia, who insisted to babysit their ‘play dates’ until they were twelve. “Hey Bill,” Eddie says carefully, looking Bill up and down. “What’s up?” Bill smiles as he scratches the back of his neck.

                “W-well, I w-was thinking of having a movie n-night at my place.” He looks at Eddie curiously. “You d-down?” Of course Eddie was down. He always went to Bill’s movie nights, despite his mother thinking he just had _a lot_ of science projects to do.

                “Heh, yeah, Bill! I’ll be there for sure. Same time as always?” Eddie asks, smiling up at Bill. Bill nods quickly. He looks extra pleased that Eddie had agreed. Eddie found this slightly… suspicious.

                                               _“No…. love it, in fact”_

No way…Did this have something to do with what Richie was mumbling to Mike about? Eddie looks up at Bill a little dumbly, mouth hanging open like a fish. “Does this have something to do with- “

                “I’ll see you then!” Bill squeaks, going off to join Stan for second period. “Bye, Eddie!” Eddie stands by his locker with a dumbfounded look on his face. What the fuck was going on?

                At lunch, things weren’t much better. All of his friends, fuck, even Stan, were acting like they knew something he didn’t. Eddie sat down stiffly, squeezing his water bottle so hard that water began to dribble from the cap. Mike put his hand on Eddie’s wrist. “Take it easy, tiger,” Mike says, looking at the water that was running down Eddie’s forearm. Eddie mutters a curse as he dabs at his arm with a napkin. Richie was nowhere to be seen, but that wasn’t too unusual. Usually, he’d be outside around the back of the school, smoking with Bev. Except, Bev was here this time, feeding Ben chips and laughing. So where was Richie?

                “What are you guys trying to pull?” Eddie asks, eyes scanning the table. He gets a mixed response of shrugs and ‘dunno’s. He sighs and presses his hand to his temple. Was he too young to get gray hair? He wasn’t sure anymore.

                “Just show up at Bill’s tonight, okay?” Stan asks, eyes flicking up from his physics work book. Eddie puts his hands up in mock surrender.

                “Alright, alright! I’ll be there.”

The table seems to chesire grin.

                That night, standing outside Bill’s house, Eddie isn’t sure if he’s made a mistake. He managed to convince his mom that it was a project for Bill’s math class, but she seemed more reluctant to let him go. He’d need another excuse fast. Eddie left his bike thrown onto the yard, like he has done countless times before. He doesn’t miss the beat-up truck sitting at the edge of the drive, though. He pulls his scarf tighter to his neck as he pulls the door open with a thunk. Inside, the whole house is pitch black.

                Eddie immediately becomes afraid. Holy fuck, is It back? He thinks, eyes scanning the inky darkness before him. He nervously enters the foyer and searches in vain for the light switch.

                “Bill?” Eddie calls into the darkness as he removes his scarf and boots. The light flick on all of the sudden, blinding Eddie momentarily. Eddie rocks backwards as his friends jump from behind the stairs, clad in party hats and streamers.

                “Welcome to the ‘Let’s cheer Eddie up’ party!” Bev shouts as she tosses Eddie a party hat. Eddie smiles as he catches the hat in one hand. He looks around and gestures to the five pizzas sitting in the corner.

                “What?” Eddie says, voice filling with adoration. He loves his friends so much. “You guys didn’t have to do this for me..” Eddie trails off, eyes filling with tears. Stan smiles and gestures to the living room, where Richie was working on getting a movie to play. Eddie flushes as he catches the corner of Richie’s eye.

                “It wasn’t our idea.”

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie and Richie are left alone at the party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is it. I cannot believe im saying this, but i've finished this fic. Thank you so much to every single reader of this story. You have all motivated me to finish it. I'm not done, though! Please continue to stick around, as I have loads more ideas for the Losers I can't wait to publish. Please enjoy the last chapter.

                Richie looks over his shoulder at Eddie, and they fully meet eyes. Eddie’s minor flush roars into a deep red as he looks back to Stan. Stan raises an eyebrow but doesn’t comment on his blush, in fact, none of his friends do. Eddie puts on the party hat with slightly shaky hands and tries to grin up at his friends. Bev and him share an understanding look.

                “Let’s have some fucking fun!” Bev shouts, throwing her arms up into the air. The rest of the Losers whoop in response, already splitting apart to go get some pizza. Eddie spends a considerable long amount of time debating between cheese and pepperoni. Truthfully, Eddie loves cheese pizza and in any normal circumstance, he’d snatch it right up. But now…

                Eddie looks over his shoulder to the living room, where Richie sits cross-legged in front of the TV. He’s throwing his arms over his head, party hat placed over his nose. Eddie can hear him from the kitchen.

                “Guys, look! I’m Mr. Davidson,” He says, in a bad attempt of their physics teacher’s voice. Eddie watches as Bev snaps the hat onto his face. Richie groans and falls back on his back, his chest rising with laughter. Eddie feels his chest clench painfully tight.

                                                _“I’ll do it for a dime”_

Eddie suppresses a scream as he takes a deep, shuddering breath. He shuts his eyes tight and forces the memory from his head. _God, please not right now!_ He doesn’t want to remember. He grabs a piece of pizza with shaking hands and then gets a plate. He shuffles awkwardly into the living room and takes a seat by Stan. The words of the leper still ring in his head. They still, all these years later, make his skin itch with something he can’t reach. Like a disease, he can’t help but think. His mom thinks it’s a disease. What he feels for Richie is…

                “You in there, Eddie?” Eddie’s head snaps up as he meets Stan’s eyes. He realizes how heavy his breathing is, how wrecked his insides feel. He nods as he takes a small bite of his pizza. “Okay,” Stan says, looking unsure. Richie whoops loudly and turns to face the rest of them.

                “Guess who’s a fucking genius!” He gestures to the TV, where a movie has finally begun to play. Eddie notices that it’s Alien, and he also notices the almost knowing look Richie is giving him. He forces himself to look away. He really should be more grateful, after all, Richie did do this for him. His chest clenches again- face flushing despite himself.

                “I dunno, Albert Einstein?” Stan muses, lightly kicking Richie with his socked foot. Richie shrugs and turns back to the TV to turn the volume up.

                “You’re only saying that cause he’s a Jew,” Richie says, looking over his shoulder to stick his tongue out at Stan. Stan flips him off and Ben groans loudly.

                “Beep beep, Richie,” Mike and Bev say in unison. Richie groans as he clings to Bill’s shirt and gives him puppy dog eyes. Eddie feels jealously run into his veins, his fist clenching around his paper plate. He adverts his eyes, ashamed of himself. How many times did he have to be reminded that this Richie didn’t love him? That he never will.

                “They’re making fun of me, Bill,” Richie whines, shaking Bill’s arm. Bill pushes him off and returns to his pizza.

                “Y-you deserve i-it, Richie,” Bill says simply as he bites into his slice of pepperoni. Bill looks up at Eddie with a small smile. “A-are you having f-fun, Eddie?” Eddie nods – maybe a bit too enthused – and smiles fondly at Bill.

                “Yeah, of course!” Eddie says quickly. “I really appreciate everyone doing this for me. I love you guys,” he says, and he looks at Richie when he says the word ‘love’. Richie’s face screws up in _that_ look he’s staring to know so well. Worry. Why was Richie so worried about him? “Plus, it’s not like I have anything else to do tonight,” Eddie quips, finally becoming comfortable with the situation. He pushes all the voices, memories, and trauma to the back of his brain. That was something he’d deal with at another time. Bev laughs, lazily wrapping an arm around Eddie’s shoulders. She nuzzles her cheek into his neck, and Eddie smells her rose perfume.

                “We all love you too, knucklehead,” She says softly. Eddie sighs as he closes his eyes and leans into her warmth. He could see why Ben loves her, and why Bill did for a while when they were younger. She was just the human embodiment of the word ‘comfort’.  Eddie opens his eyes as he hears Richie gag and watches as he takes a sip of his coke.

                “Enough of the mushy shit, let’s party!”

Beverly throws a pillow at his face.

* * *

 

                So, turns out ‘party’ meant marathoning a bunch of different horror movies in one sitting. From Alien all the way to Halloween, Richie had it all. They sat through movie after movie, and eventually, people began to drift off. Stan was the first to say he was going to bed, and Bill followed him up the stairs. Bev, Mike, and Ben all decided that they wanted to make sure everything was PG with Bill and Stan, so they followed them. Then, Eddie realizes with creeping apprehension, it was just him and Richie. Alone.

                Eddie hopes maybe Richie had fallen asleep between Halloween and Nightmare on Elms Street, but he’s awake as ever. He sips on his coke quietly and stares up at the screen in a trance like fashion. Eddie watches the blue of the TV reflect on his freckled face. Richie is beautiful. Eddie closes his eyes for just a moment, feeling the light of the TV wash over him.

                                “ _Come back here, kid! I’ll blow you for free!”_

Eddie allows himself to shriek, eyes snapping open and legs flying everywhere. Why now did these memories crawl to the forefront of his brain? Why couldn’t he just live in some sort of peace? He clutches his chest as he scoots further into the couch cushions. He feels for his inhaler in vain as he watches Richie jump up to comfort him. Richie grabs Eddie’s hand and squeezes it tightly, his magnified eyes searching Eddie’s frantically.

                “Eds, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” Eddie isn’t annoyed by that look of worry anymore. No, he drinks it in as Richie pulls him close to his chest. Eddie breathes in the weed and the cologne and the absolute Richie quality of it. He chokes back a sob as he grabs Richie’s shirt tightly. Richie rubs his back in circles as Eddie sobs quietly into his chest. He’s so scared and his heart might just run away from his body with how fast it’s beating. He’s scared because he loves Richie, he always will, and that won’t ever change. Not even if Richie doesn’t love him, too. “Eds, tell me what’s wrong,” Richie mumbles into his hair. Eddie shakes his head, still sniffling, and buries his face further into Richie’s shirt.

                “Can’t,” Eddie starts, trying to steady himself, “can’t talk about it. You’d hate me.” Richie scoffs and lifts Eddie’s chin up so they’re looking at each other. The blue light of the TV is giving Richie a halo effect. Eddie’s heart fucking soars as Richie gives him a soft smile.

                “There’s no way on God’s green Earth that I could ever hate you,” Richie says with such conviction that Eddie could melt. Eddie can’t stop looking at his eyes, all brown and dark. Richie places his hand gently – almost timidly – on Eddie’s cheek. Eddie takes a shaky breath in and bites his lip hard.

                “Let’s say there was a world,” Eddie starts quietly,” where one of your friends was in love with you, and you two had just gone through some weird shit together, but now it didn’t happen.” Eddie looks away and once again goes back to chewing on his bottom lip. “What would you think?” He asks, looking back at Richie.

                “I’d think I’d dropped some Acid,” Richie says, laughing. Eddie hits his shoulder and scowls. “Okay, okay! Sorry,” Richie gives him a weak smile.

                “Not funny, asshole!” Eddie huffs. The movie had long finished playing, leaving the screen a bright white color. It really adds to the whole ‘halo’ around Richie’s head of dark curls. Eddie wants so badly to just touch them.

                “Well, hypothetically,” Richie starts, scratching his chin thoughtfully, “maybe they should just tell the person how they feel again.” Eddie feels his chest crush inwards, his heart doing the fucking samba in his ribcage. His hands get sweaty and he drags them across his shorts in order to try and combat it. _He wants to say it!_ He wants to tell Richie how he feels all over again, no matter what his answer is. Eddie wants him to know he loves him, and he doesn’t give a shit what It or his mother thinks. Breathe, he thinks desperately. Remember to just breathe.

                “I love you,” Eddie blurts out, face reddening as soon as the words leave his mouth. He freezes up and scoots far away from Richie, mind going at a frenzy pace. The leper, his mother, the fact Richie may not feel the same. What if this wasn’t like the last time he said those words? He clutches the cushion of the couch, chest rapidly moving up and down. “Fuck! I’m sorry, Richie, I’m so- “

                Richie pulls Eddie by his shirt collar and kisses him fiercely. Eddie gasps against Richie’s lips, his hands trembling at his sides. This was so different from last time, he can’t help but think as he pulls desperately on Richie’s hair. This time he was himself and it was Richie’s hands who were gripping tightly at his thighs. Eddie doesn’t hold back his groan as Richie lifts him up into his lap. Richie’s lips slide down Eddie’s jaw to his neck in a fluid motion. Eddie sighs loudly as Richie nips at the skin there, his eyes glowing brightly in the darkness. Eddie bucks his hips up to meet Richie’s and gasps loudly when he finds Richie already hard under his jeans.

                “Love you so fucking much,” Richie mutters as his hands sweep under Eddie’s shirt. Eddie can only gasp in response as he claws his fingernails into Richie’s back. Eddie looks over the side of the couch to find Richie’s shirt laying there. When did that happen? “So fucking perfect, Eds,” Richie mumbles against the skin of Eddie’s stomach. Eddie looks away in embarrassment.

                “Shut up, Trashmouth,” he murmurs, biting down on his fist as Richie unbuttons and pulls down his jeans. Richie raises an eyebrow and tugs experimentally at the waistband of Eddie’s boxers.

                 “It’s okay, right?” Richie whispers, his lips cherry red from kissing. Eddie feels his chest clench for the millionth time tonight. He nods breathlessly as Richie pulls down his boxers with a gentle tug. He looks down at Eddie’s body, mouth open wide and face flushing.

                “You’re gonna catch flies, Rich,” Eddie whispers, face as red as Richie’s. Richie laughs breathlessly as he gives an experimental tug to Eddie’s dick. Eddie clenches his eyes tightly shut as Richie moves his wrist up and down fluidly.

                “This should be a day to celebrate,” Richie mumbles to himself, “the day someone made Trashmouth Tozier quiet.” Eddie’s laugh dies in his throat as Richie goes faster, his other hand clutching Eddie’s. Eddie’s breathing becomes even more unsteady as Richie twists his wrist in a way that makes his head swim. The whole room feels like its swirling into another world. He gasps brokenly as Richie flicks his wrist again.

                “Rich, ‘m not gonna, “Eddie huffs, staring up at Richie. Richie goes even faster, but he tries to keep direct eye contact with the boy underneath him. When Eddie jerks his hips up and starts to shout, Richie swallows the noise with a kiss. He pulls away and wraps his arms around Eddie as he comes down from the high slowly. “I can’t believe we just did that,” Eddie mumbles, allowing Richie to lay his body on top of him. Richie snuggles his face into Eddie’s neck.

                “Yeah, I had good practice with your mom,” Richie says, grinning against Eddie’s neck. Eddie swats him in the back of the head lightly. Richie chuckles lowly and presses a barely there kiss to his neck.

                “Don’t ruin the moment,” Eddie says, eyes growing heavy with drowsiness. He takes Richie’s hand in his loosely.

                “I do have a knack for doing that,” Richie muses aloud as he squeezes Eddie’s hand. Eddie smiles as he allows himself to close his eyes. The room is completely silent, but in a way that’s comforting. The only noises are their light breathing. Eddie almost lets himself give into the warm embrace of sleep. “I love you,” Richie says suddenly, causing Eddie to snap his eyes open. “I’m not sure what was going on in your head today, but I love you. I always have,” Richie says. Eddie wishes Richie’s face wasn’t currently buried in Eddie’s neck. He wants to see the expression he’s making.

                “I love you too, dumbass,” Eddie mumbles as he strokes Richie’s hair. He hears Richie laugh quietly as he drifts off.

                His last thoughts before sleeping is how much he loves the boy above him.

 

               

**Author's Note:**

> OKK so this is my new big project!! I hope you all like it!


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